It has become well-known and widely reported that there has been an increase in head, neck and brain injuries sustained by athletes engaged in contact sports such as football, hockey, lacrosse, and the like.
While there have been many attempts to address this concern, such as by incorporating various types of shock absorbing material within the helmet, webbing within the helmet, modular components located at strategic areas of the helmet, etc., every contemplated modification remains based on the utilization of the hard plastic outer shell as a basic and necessary component of the helmet structure.